£250 to recover car

AN ANGRY Chailey couple are having to pay a minimum of 250 for the return from a police pound of their stolen car.

And they have written to the chief constable to express their disgust.

Say John and Kirstine Bowen in a letter to the police: 'Our car was stolen from Lewes on April 13. It was later found in Worthing and taken to a pound in Fontwell.

'The police agents, a garage working as an agent of the AA, inform us that a 105 removal charge, and 12 a day storage charges are payable. This will cost us 250 minimum.

'However legal, this is unjust. We have been unable to talk to a police officer about this matter. This is perhaps understandable. It must be a depressing task attempting to explain, never mind defend, this policy.

'Are you happy with this treatment of a law-abiding family? We have three teenage children upon whom much time and effort has been spent teaching them the difference between right and wrong, to trust the police and obey the law.

'They ask, and rightly so: "Why are we paying the police for having our car stolen?''

'We believe this American policing method to be totally out of place in Great Britain.'

A police spokesman said there was a company that dealt with the removal of vehicles for the police. The system had been operating for at least a year. The cost for car owners was recoverable from insurance.